Ridley Scott plans on making a Gladiator threequel, and his greatest inspiration is The Godfather trilogy. The director told USA Today that “Yes, it’s true,” Gladiator III is on the way, and his ideas for it trace back to the mafia drama by Francis Ford Coppola. He said: “I sat and pondered all this over a weekend, and I realized, well, I’m stealing this whole notion from Francis.”

Gladiator II to the progression of the Corleone family in the first two Godfather movies. In the new sequel, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is living peacefully in a far-off Roman colony, yet he is still dragged back to the Colosseum by force – just like his father Maximus (Russell Crowe) in the first movie. Scott compared this to The Godfather II, saying: “At the end of The Godfather, you see that Michael doesn’t want the job at all. I just love that idea of a guy who’s inherited a role that he just cannot get out of. That really intrigues me.”